


Seeking After That Golden Clime

by jesterlady



Category: Star Trek: Voyager
Genre: Episode Related, Episode Tag, F/M, Missing Scene, One Shot, Romance, Season/Series 05
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-06
Updated: 2014-01-06
Packaged: 2018-01-07 16:05:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,462
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1121833
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jesterlady/pseuds/jesterlady
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tom and B'Elanna have dinner after he's released from the brig</p>
            </blockquote>





	Seeking After That Golden Clime

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own ST Voyager. The title is by William Blake.
> 
> A/N: It always bothered me that though Harry visited Tom in the brig that B'Elanna didn't, even though I loved their flashback.

Tom made his way to B'Elanna's quarters slowly. Now that the moment was there he was feeling nervous, which was ridiculous, yet he couldn't seem to help it. He'd spent thirty days without her, missing her, trying to figure things out, but he hadn't come to any conclusions.

He didn't regret his actions. At no point during his thirty days had he felt regret for them. His regret came from disappointing the people around him, the Captain came first to mind naturally. He'd replayed the look on her face as she'd stripped his rank from him over and over. It made him sick to think that he'd made her look like that. She was the only one who had ever looked beyond his surface to see what he could really become. Now they were going to spend the next thirty odd years stuck on the same ship with the reminder of his insubordination on his collar every time she looked at him.

He'd cross that bridge when he came to it on his next duty shift. He wasn't looking forward to it. He couldn't imagine anything more awkward unless it was his next meeting with his father, should that ever happen. But right now he had someone else to face.

Considering B'Elanna had been the one to inspire his act of insubordination, he thought she wouldn't be disappointed in him, but things were different now. It was really his pride that was coming under fire, making him feel unworthy of her. Rationally he knew that was stupid, after all, neither of them had had a stellar past to begin with. But he had started to think that they had pushed past that, becoming something that wouldn't be the gossip fodder of Starfleet. He'd messed that up now.

So he paced outside of her quarters for a minute before finally signaling that he was there.

When the door opened, she was a sight. Maybe it was the prolonged absence but she looked more beautiful than he remembered. No uniform, but her off duty attire was stunning.

"Are you going to come in or just stare at me?" she asked, smirking.

"I can't make up my mind," he said, coming in. "I might just need to make up for lost time."

"Just don't expect me to twirl for you," she said, walking away toward the set table.

"Walking away works fine," he said, letting his eyes roam.

She grabbed the food from the replicator and poured him a drink. He sipped it appreciatively before setting it down and just looking at her again. The deprivation of food that involved actual flavor was still second to not being able to see her.

"What?" she finally asked.

"Come here," he said.

"You come here," she replied archly.

"Is that an order?" he asked, trying to feel his way into being comfortable with his new rank.

"As a matter of fact it is, Ensign," she said, no bite in her tone.

He was all too willing to comply, crossing to her and bending down to kiss her, pressing her against him.

"Aye, aye," he whispered.

"That's nice," she said when they broke apart.

"I agree," he said.

"Try not to get locked up again because I'd like to keep doing it," she said. He shifted uncomfortably. "I'm sorry," she said. "I guess I'm not sure what to say."

"I don't know either," he said. "You didn't exactly come to see me."

"Hey, I tried," she said. "Believe me. I didn't even get to say goodbye to you. I went to the Captain but she refused to let me anywhere near you. I went to Chakotay and spent a few hours yelling at him but he might as well be fused to the Captain for all that he agreed." She threw up her hands, pacing a little. "Then when Harry got permission to see you, I requested again and she coldly informed me it would be too much of a treat for you. Maybe she thought I was planning a little jailbreak or something, but whatever her reasons, they were stupid."

"Would you have tried to break me out?" he asked, moving in closer to her again, capturing her waist.

"Maybe," she said in a calmer tone. "If I thought it was necessary. I did try to blow a fuse in a conduit in the brig but when I went to repair it I was told to send Vorik instead."

"I'm impressed," he said, feeling much better than when he'd come in.

"Yes, well, I missed you. And…I'm proud of you."

"Is that so?" he asked, pulling her even closer.

"Just so we're clear," she said. "We spend too much time miscommunicating, so listen up. I am proud of what you did, I still love you, and I don't care what rank you are, even though you can expect me to order you around a lot."

He grinned, then kissed her soundly. It was difficult not to clutch her to him and rasp out his thanks, but he worked very hard on his banter and on not scaring her with too much human romantic mush. It was enough that she'd said what she'd said.

"Can't argue with that."

"Now do you want dinner or not?" she asked.

"Maybe later," he said, lowering his head to kiss her again. "You look a little bit more appealing at the moment."

"Is that a slur about my cooking?" she asked, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"No, ma'am," he said, kissing the corner of her mouth. "It's a compliment to you."

"I expect a lot more, Ensign."

"Oh, Lieutenant, there's a lot more where that came from."

"Really?"

"Oh, yeah," he said, letting his lips graze down her cheek to her neck. 

Her breath hitched when he got to the spot behind her jaw and he spent some extra time there, one of his favorites.

"Tom," she gasped out after some time had passed.

"What?" he asked, his own breath ragged.

"You're wasting time."

"I don't hear you complaining."

"Consider this my formal request then."

"I'll take it under advisement," he said, kissing her again and maneuvering them toward the bedroom, while she pulled at his uniform.

It was a long time before Tom remembered how to think again, lying in her bed while she was sprawled on top of him.

"How about dinner?" she finally asked.

He laughed and rolled her off him to tuck in at his side.

"You may have to feed it to me."

"Not on your life," she said.

"Come on, I've been malnourished for thirty days."

"I believe you got everything your body required."

"Not everything," he said, ducking his head to lazily kiss her again.

"You can hardly complain about being mistreated."

"No," he said, "but it was still no fun."

"Are you okay?" she asked. "I mean, you've worked so hard…"

"I don't regret it," he said. "If you're still willing to be seen with me then I'd say I came out on top."

"What did you do while you were in there?" she asked.

"Push ups," he said.

"Come on," she said, digging an elbow into his side.

"Ow!" he said. "Watch the ribs you just recently pulverized."

"I'm so sorry," she said sarcastically.

"Actually…" he said, pausing, "I wrote a letter to my father."

"Really?" she asked.

"Yeah, I just wanted to…explain myself. I doubt it will make a difference but in case we ever get back to the Alpha Quadrant I just wanted some sort of explanation, some sort of record about why I did it."

"That sounds like a good idea to me," she said softly.

"Let's just hope dear old dad thinks so."

"Maybe he will," she said. "I hope so."

"Me too," he said, running his fingers idly up and down her arm.

"Tom…when you find a cause you believe in, it makes everything worthwhile."

"Is that your expert Maquis opinion?" he asked.

"As a matter of fact it is," she said tartly.

"I do have a cause that I believe in," he said quietly. "I believe in Voyager, in the Captain, in our mission to get home. Those were things I had to set aside for a moment, but there's one cause I don't ever plan to set aside."

"What might that be?" she asked.

He twisted his head to look in her eyes.

"You. I'm not ever going to stop believing in us, in you."

"You spent thirty days thinking that up, didn't you?" she teased, but she looked flushed anyway.

"You caught me," he said, turning on his side and kissing her again. "You always do."

"Don't forget it," she said, kissing him back with a little more fervor.

"I won’t."


End file.
